It has long been the object of inventors, who deal with the art form recited in the aforementioned field of the invention, to provide various and sundry means, as well as apparata, to ensure that bed clothes, principally sheets, are secured to a mattress.
That such retention of bed clothes is a long-felt need is evidenced by the patent issued to Cox, U.S. Pat. No. 267,498, on Nov. 14, 1882. Cox devised a bed clothes fastener which comprised an "L" shaped apparatus, the lower or horizontal leg of which slipped between the rigid mattress and its platform support. The vertical leg of the "L" further comprised a clip-like bed sheet retention means. Because the conventional mattress, or the box spring, is rigid and essentially inflexible at its periphery, the Cox clamp, or bed sheet clasping mechanism, was well suited for the use to which it was placed. Today, with the advent of the waterbed mattress, which is essentially a liquid-filled bladder, the Cox apparatus finds limited application. Its most significant drawback is the relative inflexibility of the "L" shaped member. This is due in no small part to the fact that the vertical member of the Cox "L" must be rigidly affixed to the horizontal leg. This inflexibility was inconsequential during the era in which Cox invented the apparatus simply because there was no transverse pressure exerted against the vertical member by the rigid mattress or box spring.
In 1963, Gronvold, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,092,848, sought to retain a bed sheet of smaller than conventional size on a conventionally sized mattress. It was Gronvold's contention that a good deal of the (then) present-day bed sheet was comprised of excess material, the function of which was to be tucked under the mattress, thereby retaining the sheet snuggly on the mattress. Gronvold reasoned, while still dealing with the relatively rigid mattress, that all that should be required was an apparatus which would clasp the hem or the margin of the bed sheet and urge the secured points towards the bottom center of the mattress. Thus, he contrived a spider-like apparatus consisting of an even number of strips of elastomeric material radiating outwardly from a common center. At the ends of these radiating members, there were affixed bed sheet clamping clips which were themselves comprised of an elastic tab, or detent, which had attached thereto a spring clip. The latter element, in reality, comprised the familiar garter belt hosiery clip such as was found on garter belts, corsets, etc. The entire apparatus was placed beneath the bed mattress, or box spring, with its radial center positioned at the center of the mattress or box spring. The clip members were then brought up and around the bed ensemble, preferably at the corners with each corner accommodating a clip on either side.
The use of ancillary apparata to retain the flat or planar sheets was forgotten with the advent of the "fitted sheet". The fitted sheet represented a reasonable solution to the problem of securing the sheet to a conventional, rigid mattress. However, with the later development of the liquid filled bladder, commonly referred to as water mattress or waterbed, the problem of slipping and non-retainable bed clothes reappeared. It is well recognized by those producing and selling accessories for waterbeds that the fitted sheet is usable with the water mattress only for the purposes of making the bed or placing the bed clothes on display. The moment one attempts to recline on the sheet-covered mattress, the force is transmitted hydraulically and uniformly throughout the bladder resulting in the ballooning corners of the water mattress quite literally "sheding" themselves of the confining, unyielding sheet, irrespective of whether the corners are fitted.
It appeared to the inventor that, where the prior art sought a means to clamp the bed sheet, the problem with the present day water mattress has shifted to a need for some means to hold the clamp means stationary.
It is therefore the primary object of this invention to devise a means for holding planar fabrics such as sheets and blankets in a relatively stationary position on the waterbed mattress.
The invention therefore consists in the novel parts, construction, combination and principles herein shown and described.